Z5he  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
A  Homemade  Windmill 
Economy  in  Materials  and  Construction 
Part  T. 
NEX PENSIVE  POWER.— Probably  there  is  no  one 
other  piece  of  work  <>n  the  farm,  with  the  pos¬ 
sible  exception  of  turning  the  grindstone,  that  is 
so  uninteresting  and  comes  so  near  toeind  drudgery 
as  pumping  water.  The  gasoline  engine  and  wind¬ 
mill  have  relieved  much  of  this  drudgery,  but  there 
are  still  many  cases  where  water  is  pumped  by 
hand  for  cattle  throughout  the  Summer  months,  at 
least.  Every  farmer  is  not  lucky  enough  to  have 
running  water  in  his  pasture,  and  unless  he  has 
some  means  must  be  provided  to  secure  an  abun¬ 
dance  of  water  for  the  herd.  A  windmill  and  stor¬ 
age  tank  with  a  capacity  sufficient  for  three  or  four 
days  is  the  easiest  and  cheapest  way  of  securing 
this.  There  are  very  few  days  when  there  is  not 
wind  enough  to  turn  a  mill  during  some  portion 
of  the  day,  and  the  only  cost  of  running  is  the 
upkeep  and  lubricating  oil:  air.  the  motive  power, 
costs  absolutely  nothing. 
SIMPLICITY  OF  OUTFIT.— -Often,  however,  the 
farm  is  a  rented  one  and  the  tenant  feels  that  he 
cannot  go  to  the  expense  of  erecting  a  steel  mill. 
With  this  thought  in  mind — securing  an  efficient 
windmill  at  low  cost — Bulletin  No.  50.  “The  Home¬ 
made  Windmills  of  Nebraska.”  was  sent  out  by  the 
Nebraska  Experiment  Station.  The  mills  described 
in  this  bulletin  are  not  suitable,  however,  for  the 
conditions  in  Eastern  States.  Most  of  the  mills 
described  in  it  are  fixed.  Le.,  they  utilize  tlie  wind 
effectively  only  when  if  blows  from  a  certain  quar¬ 
ter..  A  windmill  of  the  turbine  type  1ms  to  face 
the  wind  when  running,  and  as  tlie  winds  of  the 
Eastern  States  are  not  constant  in  direction,  swing¬ 
ing  from  one  point  of  the  compass  to  another, 
some  means  has  to  he  provided  to  let  the  mill  swing 
about  the  top  of  the  tower  and  face  the  wind,  no 
matter  from  what  direction  it  conies.  There  is  noth¬ 
ing  difficult  about  making  a  windmill  for  pump¬ 
ing  purposes.  The  illustrations  show  one  that  was 
built  last  Spring  and  is  now  pumping  water  from 
a  shallow  well  for  25  bead  of  cattle.  A  small  stor¬ 
age  tank  of  about  16  barrels  capacity  was  made 
from  plank  to  hold  water  over  calm  periods,  but 
there  are  very  few  days  when  the  wind  does  not 
blow  enough  to  pump  sufficient  water  for  the  cows. 
The  tank  is  necessary,  however,  for  although  the 
mill  may  pump  enough  water  at  some  time  during 
the  day,  it  may  not  he  running  at  the  time  the  cows 
want  it,  and,  of  course,  there  are  some  days  when 
it  does  not  run  at  all.  A  concrete  tank  would  lu> 
better  than  the  one  shown,  but  this  mill  was  in 
the  nature  of  an  experiment,  mneh  of 
the  work  done  upon  it  was  of  a  tempor¬ 
ary  character  to  keep  the  cost  as  low 
as  possible. 
THE  WIND-WIIEEL.— The  essential 
part  of  the  mill  is  the  wind-wheel.  It 
is  eight  feet  in  diameter  over  all, 
and  is  composed  of  24  vanes  or  sails, 
mounted  radially  upon  a  suitable 
framework.  In  Fig.  47  a  portion  of 
the  sails  are  shown  removed  showing 
the  construction  of  the  wheel  support¬ 
ing  them.  The  sails  were  made  from 
North  Carolina  pine  %-inch  in  thick¬ 
ness.  Probably  well-painted  basswood 
would  do  as  well,  for  there  is  very 
little  tendency  to  warp,  owing  to  tlie 
fact  that  both  sides  are  presented  to 
the  air.  When  completed  they  are  12 
inches  across  tlie  wide  end.  four  inches 
across  the  narrow  end  and  2 14  feet 
long.  A  dimensioned  half  of  one  is 
shown  in  the  cut.  They  were  made 
from  a  board  eight  inches  wide  cut 
to  the  proper  length  and  then  sawed 
diagonally  from  a  point  two  inches 
from  one  corner  to  a  point  two  inches  from  the 
other.  This  gives  two  pieces  of  the  size  and  shape 
shown  in  the  cut.  Two  of  these,  fastened  together 
by  cross  cleats  at  the  lower  end  and  just  above 
tlie  slot  form  the  completed  sail.  These  cleats  are 
four  inches  and  nine  inches  long  respectively,  and 
are  made  from  stock  one  inch  square.  Besides 
providing  a  way  of  fastening  the  two  parts  of  the 
sail  together  they  are  used  to  fasten  the  sail  to  the 
framework  of  the  wheel  as  well,  a  small  carriage 
bolt  passing  through  their  center  and  the  rim  of  the 
wheel,  bolting  the  vane  in  plaee. 
DETAILS  OF  CONSTRUCTION.— The  frame¬ 
work  of  the  wheel  is  six  feet  two  inches  in  diameter 
and  is  built  up  of  wood.  The  spokes  or  cross  pieces 
are  six  feet  in  length  and  are  made  from  North 
Carolina  pine  two  inches  by  %-inch  in  cross-section. 
At  the  center,  where  the  spokes  cross,  pieces  of  the 
same  material  2xl%x20  inches  in  size  are  bolted  on 
each  side  as  shown  in  the  drawing  at  (A).  The 
spokes  are  then  halved  together  at  right  angles. 
The  pieces  are  bolted  on  each  side  of  the  spokes  for 
purposes  of  strength,  and  to  provide  enough  ma¬ 
terial  so  that  the  hole  for  the  shaft  upon  which 
tlie  mill  turns  can  he  bored  without  cutting  the 
spokes  in  two.  The  center  joint  of  the  spokes  is  still 
further  strengthened  by  circular  pieces  of  ono-incli 
hoard  11  inches  in  diameter,  placed  on  either  side 
and  bolted  through  the  anus.  These  are  so  placed 
that  the  grain  of  one  is  at  right  angles  to  that  of 
the  other,  and  the  grain  of  each  diagonal  with  that 
of  the  spokes. 
THE  RIM. — To  build  the  rim  of  the  wheel  make 
a  temporary  floor  on  some  horses  at  a  suitable 
height  to  work  at  handily,  and  of  a  size  to  accom¬ 
modate  the  work.  A  form  is  made  by  striking  a  cir¬ 
cle  six  feet  in  diameter  and  driving  10-penny  nails 
The  Homemade  Windmill  Complete.  Fig.  46 
from  10  to  12  inches  apart  around  the  circumference. 
These  nails  are  not  d live  11  clear  down,  but  are  left- 
projecting  about  two  inches  and  provide  a  form 
around  which  the  rim  is  bent.  The  rim.  which  is 
2x1  inch  in  cross  section,  is  built  of  thin  pieces  of 
stock.  In  the  mill  described  white  pine  was  used,  be¬ 
ing  cut  in  strips  %-inch  thick  and  two  inches  wide, 
four  layers  being  used  to  build  up  the  rim.  The 
layers  were  fastened  with  screws  and  glue  and  the 
wheel  left  on  the  form  until  the  glue  was  dry.  The 
inner  circle  was  built  up  in  the  same  way.  As  this 
wheel  was  only  three  feet  in  diameter,  outside 
measurement,  tlie  form  upon  which  it  was  built  was 
made  two  feet  10  inches  in  diameter,  the  thick¬ 
ness  of  the  rim  being  one  inch.  No  doubt  some 
more  pliant  wood  as  elm  or  ash  would  be  better  to 
build  these  circles  from;  the  strips  would  then  not 
have  to  be  cut  so  thin.  After  this  circle  was  thor¬ 
oughly  dry  it  was  laid  in  place  upon  the  wheel,  the 
intersections  with  the  spokes  marked  and  four  seg¬ 
ments  cut  out.  The  segments  were  held  in  their 
places  between  the  spokes  by  small  angles  made 
from  strap  iron,  one  bolt  passing  through  the  spoke 
and  the  other  through  the  end  of  the  segment. 
VANES. — To  space  the  holes  for  attaching  the 
vanes  measure  around  the  circumference  with  the 
tape  and  divide  the  distance  into  21  equal  parts. 
To  be  sure  of  accuracy  step  these  divisions  around 
with  the  dividers,  and  if  it  does  not  come  out  evenly 
adjust  the  dividers  until  it  does.  With  these  di¬ 
visions  marked  on  the  outer  circle  it  is  an  easy 
matter  to  place  a  straight  edge  from  this  point  to 
the  center  of  the  wheel,  the  intersection  of  the 
straight  edge  with  the  inner  circle  locates  the  point 
149 
on  that  circle,.  Three-sixteenth  holes  are  bored 
through  the  centers  of  the  outer  and  inner  rims  at 
these  points  and  the  sails  bolted  to  them  by  means 
of  the  slats  across  the  back.  These  cleats  are  shown 
* 
in  place  at  (B).  r.  it.  s. 
Insurance  on  Parcel  Post  Packages 
THE  attention  of  this  office  has  been  called  to  a 
letter  appearing  on  page  64  of  the  issue  of  The 
R.  N.-Y.  for  January  8,  1916,  entitled  "Insurance  of 
1 ’a  reel  Post  Eggs.”  in  which  it  i>  alleged  that  per¬ 
sons  making  claims  for  indemnity  on  account  of 
losses  sustained  in  connection  with  insured  parcel 
post  mail  are  required  to  fill  out  a  lengthy  docu¬ 
ment,  and  are  compelled  to  execute  their  affidavits 
before  notaries,  the  expense  in  many  cases  being 
greater  than  the  amount  of  the  claim. 
In  view  of  the  fact  that  your  paper  enjoys  a 
wide  circulation,  and  reaches  a  large  number  of 
persons  who  should  benefit  by  the  insurance  feature 
of  the  parcel  post  service,  it  is  deemed  advisable 
to  bring  to  your  attention  the  fact  that  at  no  time 
has  the  Post  Office  Department  expected  claimants 
to  incur  any  expense  in  executing  their  affidavits,  the 
application  for  indemnity  specifically  providing  that 
the  declarations  of  both  the  sender  and  addressee  of 
an  insured  parcel  may  he  sworn  to,  without  twist, 
before  the  postmaster,  any  sworn  employee  of  a 
post  office  designated  by  the  postmaster  for  the  pur¬ 
pose.  or  any  other  representative  of  the  Post  Office 
Department  commissioned  by  the  Postmaster  (leu- 
era  1. 
Your  attention  is  also  invited  to  the  inclosed  re¬ 
vised  blank  application  for  indemnity,  now  in  use, 
which  is  considered  as  concise  as  under  existing  con¬ 
ditions  it  is  practical  to  make  it  and  still  obtain 
the  information  essential  to  the  adjustment  of 
claims.  Please  note  that  the  sender  of  a  parcel  is 
required  to  answer  but  two  questions.  Will  you 
kindly  publish  appropriate  correction? 
A.  M.  DOCKERY. 
Third  Assistant  Postmaster  General. 
R.  N.-Y. — Accompanying  the  above  letter  is  a  copy 
of  the  application  for  indemnity  for  loss  of  insured 
packages.  Under  the  head  of  Information  and  In¬ 
structions  the  following  statement  is  made : 
This  declaration  may  be  made  without  cost  before 
any  postnffiee  inspector  or  other  representative  of  the 
Post  Office  Department  commissioned  by  the  Post¬ 
master  General  or  any  postmaster  or  sworn  employee 
of  a  post  office  designated  by  the  postmaster  for  the 
purpose,  the  impression  of  the  postmarking  stamp  of 
the  post  office  or  station  where  it  is  executed  being  af¬ 
fixed  thereto  if  practicable.  However,  if  preferred,  the 
declaration  may  be  executed  before  an  officer  author¬ 
ized  to  administer  oaths,  who  will  affix  his  official  seal 
thereto,  or  if  be  has  no  seal,  a  certificate  should  be  ob¬ 
tained  from  a  clerk  of  a  court  of  a  record  slutwing  that 
lie  is  duly  qualified  to  administer  oaths. 
The  execution  of  this  statement  is  ne¬ 
cessary  to  enable  the  department  to  com¬ 
plete  the  evidence  in  the  cose,  and  does 
not  in  itself  indicate  that  the  person  mak¬ 
ing  the  same  will  receive  indemnity  or 
reimbursement.  No  indemnity  can  be 
paid  to  cover  or  include  the  cost,  if  any. 
of  furnishing  this  declaration,  whether  or 
not  indemnity  is  paid  or  recovery  is 
made. 
The  names  and  initials  of  sender  and 
addressee,  whenever  they  appear  in  this 
form,  should  correspond  exactly  with 
their  signatures  as  affixed  thereto,  and 
with  their  names  as  given  in  the  certifi¬ 
cate  of  the  postmaster  on  page  1.  If 
a  signature  is  made  by  mark,  its  genuine¬ 
ness  must  be  attested  by  a  disinterested 
witness. 
Indemnity  for  lost  insured  parcels  (in¬ 
cluding  ('.  O.  D.  mail)  is  limited  to  their 
actual  value  within  the  limits  prescribed 
by  tlie  Postal  Laws  and  Regulations,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  fee  paid. 
No  indemnity  will  be  paid  for  a  lost 
insured  parcel: 
(ll  Unless  application  is  made  within 
six  months  from  the  date  of  mailing; 
(2)  Unless  lost  while  in  the  custody  of 
the  postal  service ; 
(2)  When  the  loss  is  due  to  damage, 
unless  the  article  is  so  completely  dam¬ 
aged  as  to  be  rendered  worthless  and  be¬ 
yond  repair; 
(4)  When  the  loss  is  merely  of  a 
postal  consequential  nature; 
(5)  When  such  matter  is  not  lawfully  in  the  mails; 
(6)  Where  other  compensation  or  reimbursement  lias 
been  made  therefor  by  the  Post  Office  Department. 
Surely  the  method  of  handling  these  matters 
ought  to  he  made  as  simple  as  possible,  for  many 
of  the  amounts  involved  are  small,  and  yet  import¬ 
ant,  and  the  average  shipper  wants  to  avoid  as 
much  red  tape  as  possible. 
The  Japanese  are  blooming  out  as  imitators  in  all 
sorts  of  industrial  lines.  They  are  now  exporting  large 
quantities  of  potato  starch.  Formerly  till  -  starch  was 
rarely  made  in  Japan,  but  on  observing  that  ili-'re  was 
a  good  demand  for  it,  the  Japanese  promptly  began  ex¬ 
periments,  and  are  now  in  the  market  as  competitors 
with  other  potato-growing  districts. 
Among  the  things  suggested  as  smears  on  tree  trunks 
to  keep  rabbits  away  are  blood,  grease,  lime-sulphur, 
sour  milk  and  soft  soap.  The  sure  remedy  is  to  pro¬ 
tect  with  wire  screen,  wooden  strips  or  stalks. 
Details  of  Windmill  Construction.  Fig.  47 
